Rosen



Jan. 31,1956 B. A. ROSEN 2,732,569

SAFETY GUARDS FOR CRIBS OR PLAY PENS Filed July 17. 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 :17; ii if:-

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Atfnrmtyg B. A. ROSEN SAFETY GUARDS FOR CRIBS OR PLAY PENS Jan. 31, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 17. 1952 glnhentur BERNARD/4 EosE/v' United States Piano SAFETY GUARDS FOR CRIBS R PLAY PENS Bernard A. Rosen, Baltimore, Md. I Application July 17, 1952, Serial No. 299,329

4 Claims. (Cl. -331) This invention relates to childrens furniture and more particularly to baby cribs and play pens.

The conventional crib or play pen is of rectangular construction like an open top cage, with a mattress or other covering forming ares ting place or floor on which the child plays or sleeps. It'is arranged with a head and foot board mounted on legs to position them above the ground. It has a fixed side fence on one side and a sliding fence on the other side with a locking and tripping mechanism to lower the sliding fence and give greater access to the interior of the crib or play pen. In all of the conventional cribs or play pens available, the side fences are usually constructed with top and bottom rails held together by rungs which are usually separated several inches to allow for observation and the passage of air.

In many instances when the baby has been placed in a crib or play pen of conventional design and construction, it maneuvers its body and passes through the space between the rungs, and has been strangled or otherwise maimed.

it is therefore an object of this invention to provide a removable attachment for cribs or play pens that will provide ample ventilation and reduce the spacing be tween the rungs, without reconstructing the crib or play pen, so a child cannot force its body between the rungs and become maimed or killed.

A further object of this invention is to provide an attachment for a crib or play pen to reduce the spacing between the rungs, that will be portable in construction, efficient in operation, and ornamental in design, and easily attachable to the conventional crib or play pen without tools.

A further object of this invention is to provide a crib or play pen safety guard that will be easily fastened to a specific part of the crib or play pen and not subject to displacement by the child using the apparatus.

A further object of this invention is to provide a cri or play pen safety guard that will not interfere with the ventilation of the apparatus it is used with, and one that will prevent animals or rodents from entering the crib or play pen.

Other objects will become apparent as the invention is more fully set forth.

For a clearer understanding of the invention and the objects thereof, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein a particular form of the invention is indicated. These drawings when used in conjunction with the following description serve to illustrate the invention, its principles and the operation thereof, while the claims indicate its scope.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a crib having the safety guards embodying this invention positioned on the fences and movable therewith;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the sliding fence shown in Figure l Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 33 of Figure 2,-

Patented Jan. 31, 1956 Figure 4 is front view of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a front elevation of a safety guard shown in Figure 2, with the front portion removed to show the stitfeners and inner construction of the device;

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along lines 7--7 of Figure 2;

Figure 8 is a side elevation of a modified form of safety guard and fastening means;

Figure 9 is an end elevation of Figure 8; and

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken alongline 10-10 of Figure 8.

Similar reference characters refer throughout the drawings.

In the particular construction shown in the drawings, a crib or play pen for use by small children, usually consists of head and foot members 10 and 11 respectively, and fences 12 and 52 arranged at right angles to the said members to form a cage. The fences 12 and 52 are plain grilles provided with rungs 13 located at predetermined intervals in rails 14 which are also provided with holes 15 to receive guide rods 16. The guide rods 16 are bent at 17 to pass through the head and foot members and are anchored thereto. A clip 18 having a hole 19 to receive the to similar parts lower end of rod 16 is fastened to the lower part of the head and foot members as shown in the drawings. A bed spring 20 is supported on angles 21 located on the head and foot members in the conventional manner. The tripping mechanism for lowering the fence 52 may be of conventional design and comprise U-clips 22 fastened to the side angle member 23 of spring 20 and are provided with holes 24 to receive pins 25 on which are pivoted trippers 26 that are joined together by a bar 27. A shelf 28 projects from the side of the tripper 26 and pivotally supports a trip finger 29 to contact a stop 30 attached to the lower rail 14 of the sliding fence S2 and hold it in upright closed position. To release the fence 52, the bar 27 is pushed inwardly (see Fig. 5) until the trip finger 29 passes beyond the inner edge of the stops 30 allowing the fence 52 to drop. During the raising of the fence 52, the edge of the stop 30 strikes the trip finger 29, moving it upward until the stop 30 passes the finger then drops down and its edge 54 rests against the side of the trippers 26 and prevents further downward movement, holding the rail upright.

The crib or play pen described above is set out so that it may be referred to in showing how the crib or play pen safety guard can be attached to any conventional crib or playpen.

The safety guard 31 is preferably formed with a wall of plastic sheeting 32 in which are encased strengthening side members 33 having their upper ends 34 curved and covered with plastic 35 to fit over the upper rail 14 to support the safety guard thereon. A center brace 36 is provided with a curved upper end and is covered with plastic to fit over upper rail 14 in a manner similar to that shown and described for side members 33. A lower stiffener 39 and upper stiffener 40 add horizontal strength to the side members 33 and center brace 36 and are all encased between the palstic sheeting 32 so that no metal parts or sharp edges will be exposed to injure the child or the attendant. Holes 53 pass through the sheeting 32 to provide ventilation and allow the interior of the crib to be observed. The lower end of the side members 33 are provided with elongated slots 41 to receive a hinged locking member 42. The hinged locking member comprises a spring member 43 having a looped end 44 to press against the inside of the lower rail 14 when the opposite end 45 with its slot 49 is inserted through one of the slots 41. A keeper 46 is pivoted to the loop end 44 by a pin 47 and is provided with an opposite end 48 and its slot 50 thatslips through another slot 4 1 in the side members 33. The keeper and hinged locking member 42 are locked in position in the slots by a slide pin 51 to prevent the removal of the safety guard from the crib by children. 7

In Figure 8 is shown a modified form of safety guard 55 comprising a frame 56 having a looped center 58 to hang over the upper rail. 14 to support the guard. The end portions of the guard: aresupported by angular channels 59 having their upper ends bent to form looped ends 69 to hang over the upper rail 14. The lower ends of the channels are provided with angular slots 61 and studs 62. A hooked. slider 63 having an elongated slot 64 is positioned in the slots 61 and is adjustable and tightened on the stud 62 by a wing nut.65. The frame 56 is-covered on both sides by screeuingfifi which allows the air to pass through, the interior to be observed and still prevent the childfrcm. squeezing. between the rungs 13 and becoming injured.

The safety guards may he formed of straight, corrugated or of screcningxmaterial and may be directly attached to the fences 12 without deviating from the general-purpose of providing a safety guard means for reducing the spacing bc'tweentho-rungs'of a crib or play penv so a child cannot extendpart'. of its body through the fence and be injured.

While-but two general forms of the inventionare shown in the drawings and described in the specification, it is not desired to limit this application for patent to these particular forms as it is appreciated that other forms could 4 be' made that would use the same principles and come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed l. The combination with a crib or play pen having side fences with top and bottom rails at the opposite ends of the fences, of a safety guard for each fence, said guard comprising plastic sheeting, strengthening spaced side members embedded in said sheeting, said members having curved projections-extending above andbelow the ends of the sheeting fitting around the top and bottom rails, and said projections being alsoencased' in plastic material.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, the said sheeting being provided with holes thcrcthrough to afford ventilation for the crib or play pen.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1, including adjustable means to secure the aforesaid lower projections tothebottomrail.

4. The combinationset forth in claim 3, said adjustable means including, locking, members between said lower projections and the bottom rail.

References Cited in the fil'e of this. patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 88,298 Inwood' Mar. 30, 1869 766,658 Collier Aug. 2, 1904 1,344,588 Kozik June 22, 1920 2,014,205 Linden Sept. 10, 1935 2,048,955" Showalter July 28, 1936 

